Dreams about the vast potential of artificial intelligence will collide with cold, hard reality as the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off in Las Vegas tomorrow.
Science fiction portrays AI as superintelligence that can operate faster and better than people can, and do it autonomously.
However, the technology for now is being put to work at very specialized tasks — in gadgets that translate languages during conversations, say, or monitor health symptoms, or provide information on people's surroundings through smart glasses.
Even AI being built into humanoid robots remains a work in progress, with human tele-operators overseeing their operation remotely.
"The gap between AI technology hype and customer experience expectations will widen at CES 2026," predicted Forrester principal analyst Thomas Husson.
"If software and AI models move at the speed of light, energy and hardware move at the speed of physics."
Nonetheless, he expects CES to feature an array of "AI-powered smart everything devices" for consumers, including televisions, home appliances, personal computers, vehicles, and wearables such as rings that monitor health.
Analysts expect the annual trade event, which drew more than 142,000 attendees last year, to be a sprawling affair with vendors pitching products from humanoid robots and exoskeletons to AI-infused toys and huge autonomous mining vehicles.
With thousands of exhibitors, the week-long gathering includes connected cars, heavy equipment and AI shows. Demos, presentations and meetings will take place in a massive convention center as well as ballrooms and suites throughout the city.
"There's no question that some of it is going to be AI washing," Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart said of hype expected at CES.
"But we will also see genuinely useful features driven by advances in machine learning that provide new capabilities into a range of products, everything from phones to TVs to wearables to digital health to cars."
